


kakusei.

by pastelairel



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Established Relationship, Gen, HUGE HEADCANON LAND, Headcanon, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Spoilers, because we are not fed nearly enough by trigger, big headcanon land, the original characters are mostly centered around lio, there is a scene where it uh is like you know what happens to burnish if you know spoilers, this is ALL headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 19:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20158786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelairel/pseuds/pastelairel
Summary: A year after the events of the movie, Lio finally feels ready to open up about his past.(Post-movie)(Pre-movie)





	kakusei.

**Author's Note:**

> i cried when i wrote this. anyways hope this is alright. i did this entire thing in two days. this is the headcanon-canon most of my fics will be in so i decided to just write it

“Hey, Mr. Acda?” Lio was leaning back into the couch, manspreading, in jeans and a tee-shirt. “I think I’m ready to try talking about… you know, trauma and stuff.”

It was his sixth session with his therapist, the aforementioned Mr. Acda. It was a relaxing environment, with a small electric fountain in the corner and some himalayan salt lamps scattered about. Not too much light, but not too dark.

“Only if you feel you’re ready, Lio.” The man who was only a few years older than Lio himself held a clipboard, as therapists do. With crossed legs, as therapists do. But Lio had to start somewhere in opening up, because for some reason ice still gripped his heart whenever he feels like he’s finally ready to tell Galo.

“I’m ready, I think.” Despite his words, his body language began to say the opposite.

“...Lio, please don’t force yourself. Telling others about trauma is hard, especially for the first time. I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me, but I don’t want to bring you panic.”

“... No, I want to tell someone. Anyone. Because if it’s left alone to stew in my head, my brain keeps telling me, ‘it wasn’t as bad as I make it out to be,’ or that ‘others have had it worse.’ I even believe it, too, though I know you’ve said to not compare myself to others.”

“Well… if you feel you’re ready, Lio.”

“I am.”

\--

_Born to two Burnish women four years after his sister, Lio Fotia was raised around Burnish his whole life. Both his mothers were former Mad Burnish, but have since attempted to go into hiding so their children can live normally, as neither of their children were Burnish themselves. And so they settled down in the outskirts of Detroit to have Lio and his sister, and gained their fire to survive from campfires (even bonfires on special occasions)._

_Lio was never afraid of fire. He was raised around it, and it was warm. Warm like a hug, warm like a sleepy summer day, warmness that he could feel deep inside him._

_He didn’t know his moms were Burnish, though. He just thought fire was something every kid was raised around. He was raised to be sympathetic towards Burnish, though._

\--

Mr. Acda listened to Lio’s backstory, occasionally writing something but otherwise being an active listener.

Lio remembers other memories from before everything happened, ones that he didn’t tell his therapist. They didn’t relate, but… but he liked what he remembered of his childhood.

\--

_His mothers tried to make life as stress-free as possible for their two children. After all, they knew what stress could do to a regular human. They knew all too well, living in hiding from being seen as non-human. The two had even taken it to heart, and were amazed they had birthed two regular children. Not Burnish at all._

_“Mom, mom, can I have a bike?” A four-year-old Lio tugged at one of his mothers’ sleeves, pointing to a selection of bikes at Wal-mart. “I like the black one with the frills!! It’s really sparkly, and I really like it.”_

_His mom chuckled, “Lio, you need to get one with training wheels. Besides, that one is far too tall for you. The kid bikes are on the other side, and I’m honestly hesitant to even let you ride those.”_

_Lio huffed, puffing his cheeks and crossing his arms. “Why not?! I’m old enough, I’m four! I wanna be a big kid and ride the big kid bikes, like I see other kids doing outside!!”_

_“Lio, if you’re going to keep shouting, I won’t buy you anything here.” Mom hates being stern, but she was getting a little embarrassed with Lio shouting in the middle of Wal-mart._

_“No!! I want a bike!!” Lio, like all four-year-olds, was a nightmare._

_Mom sighs, defeated, and looks around, feeling a bit relieved there was hardly anyone else in the store. “Lio, how about we ask Mommy what she thinks? Would you like that?”_

_Lio immediately lights up. “Yeah! Let’s ask Mommy! Can you call her? Can you?”_

_“Lio, I mean when we both get home, and when Mommy gets home from work. Patience is a virtue, as they say!”_

_“What’s a virtue?”_

_“Something good about a person. One of your virtues is your bravery! You’re much braver than I was at your age.”_

_Lio gasped, his eyes lighting up. “Like a lion!! Like my name, Lio!”_

_Mom grinned, rubbing Lio’s head. “That’s why we named you Lio! We knew you were going to be the bravest kid in the world.”_

_“I’m the bravest kid in the world!! I’m braver than Dinah, even!”_

_“Aha! Maybe so, Lio! Don’t tell her I said that, though!”_

\--

_When Lio was six and started kindergarten, Mommy didn’t want to let him go. Well, neither did Mom, but Mommy didn’t even stop hugging him. Honestly, Lio didn’t want her to stop._

_“Our little boy, all grown up…!! I can’t believe it’s already your first day of school, it was just yesterday we decided on your name…!” Mommy’s bleached hair smelled like vanilla, and Lio always thought of her whenever he smelled vanilla._

_“Mommy, I’m sure I’ll be okay…! I’m a big boy now, I’m in school like all the people in the books I read!” Lio felt like crying, despite being proud to be alone. But he didn’t want to leave his moms. Was this a normal thing for kids to cry at this?? Well he didn’t care, he was gonna miss Mommy and Mom!!_

_“Lio, you be safe, okay?? Tell us right away if anyone gives you a hard time!!” Mommy broke from the hug and looked at him, still kneeling down to his height._

_“I will, Mommy…!” Lio sniffed and wiped his eyes, not wanting to cry. “I’ll be brave!!”_

_“We love you!!” Mom and Mommy said at the same time as Lio hesitantly pulled away from the hug, Mommy standing up. They both looked like they were holding back tears._

_“I love you, too!!” Lio hesitated, before turning around and walking to his first day of school with other tear-stricken kids. He heard some kids wailing, and felt proud that he isn’t even crying!_

_He only cried as soon as he went into the classroom and had to deal with the fact his parents weren’t in close proximity to him. He wasn’t alone, at least, as literally every kid there was crying in some way._

_But he’s a brave kid!! Just like a lion, like his name! He’s a big kid now!_

\--

_“Dinah, I’m eight now! I’m a big kid now!” Lio huffed, stomping his foot exactly like a little kid would do._

_His sister, at twelve, was definitely the bigger kid. “And I’m twelve. Mom said I could use the Switch to play Wandersong, and I think I’m almost done! C’mon, we can play Mario Kart when I’m done…!” She was REALLY invested, but Lio wanted to play Mario Kart with her! Now!_

_“But Diiiiinaaaaaaahhhhh…..!!” Lio wailed, revealing he was definitely not the big kid he said he was._

_“Hh… okay, Lio, we can play Mario Kart. I’ll go set it up on the TV, lemme just find a spot I can quit real fast. Can we do 200cc?”_

_“Yeah!! I like going super fast, especially on the bikes! I’m gonna get a motorcycle one day when I’m grown-up!”_

_“I’m gonna learn to drive before you do, though!! I’ll be the first one to do that!”_

_“No fair, you’re ahead of me by four years…!”_

_Dinah laughed, quitting Wandersong and getting up. “Well, I’m not brave enough to ride a motorcycle. You’ve got a leg up on me there, Lio. I’m honestly scared to even start driving…”_

_Lio immediately looked concerned. “But I’m sure you can do it, Dinah…! I trust you can do it! We’ll both learn to drive! And they have so many safety thingies on the cars, it’s not, like, 2020-era safety stuff! They had noooooo safe things hardly, compared to now!”_

_“Haha! Yeah, they do, you’re right. And even if I don’t learn how to drive, they have a lotta things for public transport in America now! Not like 2020-era stuff, that stuff sucked.”_

_“Now let’s play Mario Kart!! I call first track pick!!”_

\--

_One of the days of Hanukkah, right after he turned ten, he was listening to some of his music. A really old artist from almost thirty years ago, but he still liked her music._

_“Lio, you’re ten, you shouldn’t be listening to sad Mitski stuff yet. Besides, that music is really old…” Dinah said from the other end of the couch._

_“It has meaning, though! Your favorite song is just gibberish. What even does ‘mahari yuware gaaie’ or whatever mean??”_

_Dinah looked offended, “I-I don’t know!! But it sounds really nice! And it has lyrics besides that, they’re just in Japanese.”_

_“Okay, yeah, it does sound really nice…”_

_“Plus, ‘kakusei’ as a word in Japanese has a ton of different meanings depending on the kanji used! It could mean something along the lines of a shooting star, or a revolution, or--”_

_Lio learned a lot about how words have alternate meanings depending on kanji used, that day. He still doesn’t know Japanese, though._

\--

Lio prepared himself before starting his story to Mr. Acda. His therapist looked at him concernedly, but Lio ignored him.

“Is it okay if… I just go in chronological order with this? I know I almost died last year and I’m still processing that, but I have support from my boyfriend for that. The stuff I’m about to say… I, uh, haven’t told anyone. No one that’s alive now, anyways.”

“Do whatever you are most comfortable with. Feel free to stop anytime, too. Don’t push yourself confronting your trauma, Lio. It’s a journey.”

Lio took a breath.

\--

_June 24th was just a normal day._

_It was a Sunday afternoon, clear blue skies, cicadas drowning out any sound._

_Lio was ten._

_It was the beginning of summer vacation. Lio was spending time outside on the swingset in their front lawn, eating a blue otter popsicle and reading Warriors. No summer projects to worry about, thankfully-- he was only in middle school, it’s not like they had those. Dinah was laying on the grass on her stomach next to him, eyes closed as though taking a catnap._

_“I dunno how you can lay on the grass. It’s so dirty.” Lio questioned Dinah, before biting into his popsicle._

_“It’s nice and soft, you just gotta be careful for fire ants. And ants in general… But I like it, I like getting close to the Earth.” She sighed, a smile on her face. “And it’s so warm… The sun just pours on you. The cicadas are really loud, but I really like listening to them while just laying in the sun. Did you know cicadas have, like, a super short lifespan? They don’t live for long, and they leave behind their really cool shells.”_

_“Yeah, summer is really nice…! I like the warm. I like feeling warm. Remember when I ate a cicada shell when I was like three?? I don’t. But Mom won’t let me forget it.”_

_Dinah laughed, “Lio!! How did it taste??”_

_“I don’t know, I was three!”_

_Lio looked to the street across their house. They were in a sorta-rural residential area, but still in Detroit, so it was busy enough they couldn’t see the stars too well at night. But their street is a dead end, so there are never any cars on it unless they had business there._

_So when there was a Freeze Force vehicle driving up, Lio got scared._

_“Dinah?”_

_“Huh?” Dinah looked up, hearing his tone of voice, and immediately spotted the vehicle down the street. “... Lio. Lio, come with me, come inside. Fast.” Dinah jumped up and rushed over to him, and Lio didn’t even have time to mark his place in his book before his sister grabbed his hand and ran inside. Lio dropped his otter pop, and made a mental note to pick that up later. Ugh, now he’s gotta find his place in his book…!_

_He was nervous, though, especially as Dinah locked the door behind them and called for Mom and Mommy. “Is there something wrong??” Lio looked up at his taller sister worriedly, and saw she had tears streaming down her face._

_Mom was the first to get there, and Mommy close after. Mom looked outside the window immediately when she saw Dinah crying, and froze. “Abigail. Hide Dinah and Lio. Now, please!”_

_Mommy looked panicked, but Mom looked to her desperately. Something unspoken passed between them, and Mommy spoke to Mom. “I love you, Elizabeth.”_

_“Mommy? What’s wrong?” Lio looked up at her face, and she smiled weakly down at him as she hurried him and Dinah to the kitchen._

_“Don’t worry Lio. Just be really quiet in the cabinet, okay? I’m going to put some bags of rice in front of you, and you have to be sure to hide behind them, okay? Mom and I love you so much, you’re our brave little lion. You have to be brave, okay?”_

_Lio wiggled himself into the kitchen cabinet in the corner farthest away from the door. “O-Okay, Mommy…” And before he could really process anything, he was hidden and the door shut. He could hear Dinah and Mommy talking outside, and he could hear Dinah was crying, but then he heard knocking on the front door. Everything went quiet, and he could hear the closing of another cabinet, presumably with Dinah in it._

_Harsh knocking. Lio could only hear the cicadas and his own shaking breath._

_ **KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCK** _

_Lio jumped, and made a frightened sound._

_Ice gripped his chest, and his sweat made him feel so, so cold._

_He heard the door slam open. Was it that Freeze Force vehicle thing?? Why were they here?? They weren’t Burnish… Even if they were, that’s no way to act towards anyone! Mom and Mommy are gonna handle this!_

_Lio bit his lip, terrified, as he heard gunshots and felt a chill of ice come in through the cabinet._

_“Abigail and Elizabeth Fotia, pseudonyms Vana and Jessica Fotia. Former members of Mad Burnish. You two have been found out."_

_“MOM!!! MOMMY!!!” Lio heard Dinah’s desperate voice, and the cabinet next to him opened as she hurried out. “DON’T HURT MOM AND MOMMY!!!”_

_Lio was about to hurry out, but the rice bags are so heavy, and it’s taking him so long just to move one…!!! Suddenly, he feels a wave of heat from outside, and the light of fire shines through the sliver between the doors of the cabinet._

_He was so scared, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t--_

_ **BANG** _

_Through the sliver in the cabinet, Lio saw his sister enclosed in an ice block, and fire beginning to burn through his home._

_He wanted to scream! He wanted to scream!! Mommy said be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be brave. He kept telling himself to be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be brave. Tears streamed down his face, and his breaths were shaking. He put his hand in front of his mouth so he wouldn’t scream._

_He--_

\--

Lio hugged one of the pillows on the couch tightly, having to stop.

“Lio? Do you need to stop?”

“No…no, I can do this. I got it.”

“Stop whenever you need to.”

\--

_Lio sees Mom burn to life, burning through ice, and tendrils of flame go to the five(?) Freeze Force policemen. “DON’T TOUCH HER!!” Mom cried as she wrapped three of the members in solid flame._

_Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be brave._

_Lio’s never seen anyone die. It’s not like it’s a common thing, for a 10-year-old to see someone die. But he thinks that two of the Freeze Force cops going limp, covered in horrific burn marks...he thinks that’s death. It smells like barbeque._

_Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be brave._

_Even when another gunshot rang out, and his Mom fell to the floor, he stifled his sobbing._

_Mommy roared to life with an inferno around her. Lio’d never seen anyone get stabbed before. So seeing it done by solid fire was an entirely new thing._

_GET OUT OF THERE. GET OUT OF THERE, HELP MOM, HELP MOMMY, HELP DINAH, HELP THEM HELP THEM HELP THEM_

_Lio screamed as Mommy fell after a gunshot, and fell out of the cabinet sobbing and screaming. “LEAVE THEM ALONE!!” he wailed._

_Light grey ashes filled the air, and he couldn’t see Mom or Mommy._

_“This-- This kid isn’t turning Burnish!!”_

_“STOP HURTING MY FAMILY!! Stop it!! Why are you doing this!!” Lio was on his knees, sobbing next to an ice block containing his sister. The only two Freeze Force cops standing looked at him, looking quite shell shocked themselves. “Leave-- Leave them-- Leave--” Lio was stuck in hiccups and sobs, his voice raspy._

_“Shit, dude, I don’t think he’s Burnish, but he’s not turning Burnish…!”_

_“He might turn any second! Go ahead and freeze him, we’ll just-- I guess we’ll just take him with the girl…! Fuck, dude, I can’t believe they’re dead…! Those kids’ mothers killed ‘em!!”_

_“They’re dead now! Those were ice bullets to freeze their insides! Don’t kill these kids, we shouldn’t have even killed those two Burnish!”_

_Lio was just sobbing and wailing, head in his hands. Mom!! Mommy!! Dinah!!_

_The sound of the cicadas was suffocating._

\--

“...They kidnapped my sister and me. At that time, I had no clue what happened to Dinah, because they separated us. Apparently me not turning Burnish under so much stress was really unusual, though.”

Mr. Acda sat quietly. “...I can’t imagine how hard that must have been. Must still be, now.”

“I...I try not to dwell on it.”

“I’m proud of you for opening up about it.”

“Thanks.” Lio stops speaking for a moment, looking down at his hands. “I…I’m still not sure why my mothers never told me. Dinah apparently knew, but she was fourteen at the time. I guess they just never got the chance to tell me.” Lio tears start to well in his eyes, and he wiped them.

“What ha--” Lio’s therapist paused. “Do you mind sharing what happened next? If you don’t feel ready, you don’t have to.”

“No. No, I think I’m okay.”

\--

_Cold._

_Lio’s so cold, both inside and outside._

_He did try to fight, but he’s only ten, and it’s not like he’s Burnish._

_His face is covered with tears and snot, and he was in an isolated cell._

_He sits on an exam table, like how they had at the doctor’s office for his yearly physical. It’s like a physical exam room, but just…this is just so different._

_He keeps feeling like he’s just going to go home, find out what ended up happening to Firestar, get his otter pop from the front yard. He would hug Mom and Mommy, and tell Dinah that he didn’t really understand why she liked the sound of cicadas anymore._

_Instead he sat still as a statue, with ash and sweat on him. He was supposed to change into a hospital gown, but it just sat at his side while he stayed in a tank top and shorts. Why should he do anything for these people!? They killed Mom and Mommy!!_

_That--_

_That’s right… they’re… they’re--...._

_they’re dead…_

_Lio began losing himself in wailing again, and he kept replaying in his mind his mothers being shot with ice bullets, and they faded to grey, turned to ashes like--like they never even existed._

_And… And he can’t even do anything to save Dinah…! Sure, she’s Burnish now, but she’s his sister!! And Burnish should be treated like humans, that’s what Mom and Mommy said!!_

_What--What makes Burnish so much different than humans, anyways?! Even if Mom and Mommy were Burnish this whole time, they were just as human as him!!_

_Lio screamed, choking and hiccuping as he broke down again._

\--

“It was really unusual I didn’t turn Burnish after such a traumatic event, and they wondered if I could even turn Burnish. Maybe I was the solution to the whole epidemic, they wondered. But first it had to be determined I actually couldn’t turn Burnish.”

“How did they do that…?”

“Promares come to those who are stressed, or otherwise feeling a negative emotion--sometimes even just any overwhelming emotion. We know that now, but at the time it was more that Burnish are born from stress.

“So…putting me through stress to try and see if I would turn Burnish was the first step, it seemed.”

Lio’s eyes glass over, and Mr. Acda immediately noticed. “Lio. Lio, stay with me here. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Lio blinked. “Yeah…yeah, sorry.”

“Do you want to stop?”

“...Yeah. At least for today.”

“I’m proud of you for opening up so much, Lio. This is a huge step in your recovery.”

“Yeah.”

\--

Two months after that appointment, Lio felt ready to tell Galo.

As Lio told his story up to the point where he left off with his therapist, Galo was an active listener. He comforted Lio, and...Lio really appreciated his boyfriend hugging him.

Galo and Lio sat on the couch of Lio’s apartment. The former Mad Burnish were forced to quit Burning Rescue because of the public’s anti-Burnish sentiments affecting the team, despite most of the Burning Rescue team protesting otherwise. So Lio’s living alone, for now. He’s glad Galo visits. He hopes they can live together soon.

Galo hugged Lio, wrapping his arms around the smaller man while Lio sat on his legs and hugged him back. The top of Lio’s head was pressed into Galo’s chest.

“That’s...about as far as I got with my therapist.”

Galo took a moment to process everything. “Hell, Lio… You’ve been through so much. What… what did they do to you?”

Lio felt like he was going to cry. He didn’t want to cry. Not here. Not here. Not in front of anyone. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore, memories of torture went into his head. Suddenly everything felt like too much. This is too much.

Galo noticed Lio stiffen. “Lio? Lio, you alright?”

“Of course I’m not!!” Lio suddenly pushes Galo back, tears beginning to overflow. “Don’t touch me!! Leave, I want to be alone…!”

“Lio…!! I’m not leaving you! Not when you’re like this…!”

“Like what?! Like what, Galo?!”

“When you’re breaking down!! Lio, I’m scared for you!! I love you, I’m not just going to abandon you!”

“What if I _want_ you to go!!”

It was silent, cicadas outside the building being the only sound Lio could hear.

\--

_Lio was sixteen._

_It had been six years since he first came here. Well, not ‘here.’ He’d been transferred some times._

_He still wasn’t Burnish. When he turned fourteen, it was deduced that he was immune to whatever made people turn Burnish._

_So, for the past two years, it’s been a matter of finding out what makes him immune. Well, supposedly immune. When that’s found out, it can be recreated to stop Burnish from occurring altogether, and maybe with stopping Burnish even stop the Earth’s magma from getting so close in the process._

_And yet, in two years, they’ve found nothing._

\--

“I’m not leaving you, Lio. Even if you want me to.”

Lio stiffened as the man he loved cautiously stepped closer to him. “Lio, just--” Galo seemed at a loss for words, and instead enveloped Lio in a hug.

Lio struggled at first. “Let me go!! Let-- Let… let me… l…” His punching turning into hits that a child could best. “Leave me alone… I…” Lio broke into sobbing, and hugged Galo.

“I’m so sorry, Galo…”

“It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s all okay, Lio.”

\--

“Lio, are you sure?”

It was next week that Lio finally felt ready to finish his story to Galo. He nodded. “Yeah. I… won’t panic this time.”

“Okay. I’m here for you, Lio.”

\--

_Lio had assumed Dinah dead._

_She wasn’t dead._

_She wasn’t dead._

_His sister is alive._

_She looks older, but it’s her it’s her it’s her it’s his sister_

_Lio’s forced to watch his own sister being dissected through a one-way mirror._

_His throat is hoarse from the screaming that seems to come from somewhere that isn’t himself._

_He can’t do anything he can’t do anything he’s helpless helpless helpless Dinah is suffering he can’t do anything she’s suffering just like him he can’t do anything nothing for him to do and when she screams he falls and feels something in him there’s something warm he hasn’t felt warm in so long and_

_“Lio. I’m with you now, after so long. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to you.”_

_And he explodes with fire._

_The mirror melts, Lio runs over to his sister, fire going everywhere in the operating room. Dinah regenerates, and looks at him with wide eyes. “Lio.” She mouths, before beginning to turn to ash._

_Lio screams and tries to gather up her ash but doesn’t know what to do and she’s gone._

_He suddenly feels cold, there’s ice all around him, but he melts it._

_He needs out of here. He needs out of here. He needs out of here._

_He runs, burning everything in his way._

_When someone with an ice gun prepares to shoot him with ice, Lio hesitates to burn them._

_if he kills them, he’s no better than they are._

_That’s right._

_He’s shot with ice, but melts through it yet again. He hears commotion from all around, but he doesn’t care._

_He needs out of here. He needs out of here. He needs out of here._

_He’s sobbing, but his tears evaporate from the heat of the flames around him._

\--

“You...escaped?”

“Apparently the research facility was in the middle of nowhere.”

“And...your sister…she…”

“I think it was a coincidence it happened in front of me. I think it’s because she couldn’t stoke her fire.”

“Wow, Lio, I…”

“It’s…it’s okay. I escaped, and that’s what matters. I was scared, I was confused, I was scarred. But I was alive.”

\--

_Lio was starving, thirsty, and lost. He escaped only to die. Maybe it would be best if he just died out here… It’s not like anyone is waiting for him. It’s not like there’s anyone who knows he’s alive and genuinely cares for him._

_But he found people._

_Burnish._

_He was covered in sweat, dirt, you could see his ribs almost. But there were people in this forest._

_He just stood there, looking at the first people he’s seen in years outside that facility._

_Lio trusted them._

_He told them he escaped from a Burnish research facility._

_And they accepted him. Gave him clothes, let him eat from their supplies._

_They had a small community. They would have bonfires to feed their flames, just like Lio’s moms did._

_When Lio first saw the clothes, he thought the black was a bit much. One Burnish woman said she really liked making clothes, and she didn’t mind if Lio took her most recent creation._

_“Th...Thank you…”_

_She smiled warmly. “Of course…! Anything I can do to help!”_

\--

“But eventually Freeze Force found them, when I was eighteen. ...I was the only one to make it out. I spent months just wandering without a purpose, and then I saw a familiar scene. Two people defending their own community of fellow Burnish from Freeze Force. And… I had to help. And that’s where I met Gueira and Meis, and you know the story from there.”

“Lio…God, that’s so hard.”

“...thank you. For saying that. I don’t know why, but…hearing someone tell me that it was hard, it helps me feel like it’s okay for me to feel bad about it.”

“Of course it’s okay for you to feel bad about it, Lio… And I’ll be here for you. Every step of the way. I’m so happy you’re with me here today.”

Lio smiled. “I’m...I’m really glad I didn’t die then. Thank you for saving my life, Galo.”

The two embraced in the middle of Lio’s apartment, and Galo kissed Lio’s head.

“Hey, Lio, I have some news to tell you.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I think I’ll be able to be a remote responder on the Burning Rescue team. I’ll be able to live with you.”

“...!” Lio smiled wholeheartedly. “Better prepare, because you’ll have to deal with a lot.”

“Haha, you’ll have to deal with a lot with me, too! But we can support each other, Lio.”

“I love you, Galo.”

“I love you too.”

\--

His moms were right. He is brave. That's what he's learned.

And that song that Dinah liked... When he hears it now, it _does_ have meaning.

The seeming gibberish is now, to him, words of courage.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! feel free to yell at me and threaten to eat my kneecaps (and steal my silverware)


End file.
